Seahawks dominate again at home; win 49-6 over Colonels

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. – The Salve Regina University football team defeats Curry College 49-6 in a New England Football Conference (NEFC) match-up on Saturday.

The game was never in doubt as the Seahawks dominated from the opening kickoff, forcing a swift three and out and scoring in quick fashion for an early lead.

Seahawks quarterback Steven Wilken (Ringwood, N.J.) found Matthew Traynor (Seacaucus, N.J.) who sprinted 53 yards down the sideline for a touchdown 1:48 into the first quarter.

The Seahawks never looked back, outscoring the Colonels 49-0 before allowing a lone score with 54 seconds to play in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand.

The Seahawks defense once again showed how dominant of a unit it is at home. On the season Salve Regina has only allowed 20 points total at Gaudet Field, allowing seven, seven, and six points respectively in their three home games. 

The Seahawks defense held the Colonels to one net yard rushing with the front seven controlling the line of scrimmage. With the running game bottled up the Colonels turned to the short passing and screen game and engineered a drive to the Seahawks 24 yard line, thanks to a 42 yard catch and run by Trae Weathers (Revere, Mass.) on a pass from Spencer Tyler (Yarmouth Port, Mass.).  It was the furthest the Colonels had driven into Seahawks territory to that point, however on the next play Phil Terio (Trumbull, Conn.) intercepted Tyler and raced down the sideline 85 yards for a touchdown and a 35-0 lead for the Seahawks early in the second quarter.

The Seahawks would force another three and out and score three plays later on another Wilken to Traynor touchdown, this one from 34 yards out.

It was the last time the starting offense saw the field as the reserves got the majority of the work the rest of the game.

Salve Regina head coach Kevin Gilmartin was happy to see the resolve his team showed to respond after another heartbreaking loss the week before.

"You wonder how a team is going to respond when they have a couple days to think before getting back," Gilmartin said, "but the guys came in on Monday for meetings and practice and you could just see that they were ready to turn the page and get back to our winning ways".

On the day Salve Regina totaled 428 total yards of offense, 155 through the air, and 273 on the ground. Senior running back Khari Halliburton (Manchester, N.H.) finished as the leading rusher for Salve Regina with 87 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown. Wilken finished the afternoon with 155 yards and three touchdowns on an incredibly efficient 8-10 passing. Traynor finished with five catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns.

Junior wide reciever Jackie Hurley (Kingston, Mass.) tied a Salve Regina record with seven made PAT kicks in a game. 

The Colonels were led by Skubie Mageza (Revere, Mass.) who had nine catches for 92 yards and a touchdown. Reserve quarterback Bret Kidik (Wilmington, Mass.) finished the day as Curry's leading passer with 110 yards on 8-12 passing and a touchdown.

The Seahawks now improve to 3-4 on the season and 2-2 in conference play. The Colonels fall to 0-7 overall and 0-4 in the conference.

The Seahawks will enjoy a week off before playing host to Maine Maritime on November 1 at 12 p.m. The Colonels will also have a bye week before playing Western New England on November 1 at 1 p.m. in Milton, Mass.